Essays Archive - Page 60 of 131

Patriotism’s Dilemma

Lessons from The Godfather

February 1, 2021 • by Steven B. Smith

The idea of patriotism – love of country – is an ancient one. It goes back to the Greek word patris (place of one’s ancestors) and the Latin patria (fatherland). Like every form of love, patriotism is partly determined by the object of its affection. Is love of country unconditional – ...

History

Towards a More Balanced History of the United States

How a page from history exposes the underlying politics of contemporary historical projects

January 28, 2021 • by R. Grant Kleiser

The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser was a paper founded in 1742 in Philadelphia by William Bradford, a printer, publisher – and eventually a leading participant in the American Revolution. He was the first to publish the journalism of Tom Paine (in 1775) and an outspoken critic of the wildly ...

Towards a More Balanced History of the United States

Politics

Biden’s Made-for-TV Inauguration

The spectacle of unity required a camera angle that made the razor wire and the thousands of heavily-armed National Guard members invisible

January 28, 2021 • by Stephanie Engel

Ultimately, though, what troubled me most profoundly was what we didn’t see. ...

Democracy

Welcome to the Biden Administration

In a week of hectic activity, the new president re-introduces Americans to the idea of government

January 28, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

We are now a week into the Biden administration, and President Joe Biden has set some clear and surprisingly dominant markers. Biden has kept firmly to his constitutional responsibilities in what appears to be an attempt to remind Americans of the official roles of different branches of government in our democracy. ...

Activism

Georgia On My Mind

The Democratic Party in Georgia has come a long way since the 1965 Voting Rights Act

January 28, 2021 • by Jo Freeman

“The concept of political equality...can mean only one thing—one person, one vote." ...

Politics

Time for Liberals to Trust Chuck Schumer

The doubters are loud, but they may soon be quieted

January 27, 2021 • by John Stoehr

Some liberals said after the 2016 election that Nancy Pelosi was the worst person to lead the resistance to Donald Trump’s authoritarian reign. Turns out, they were wrong. Pelosi was exactly the leader America needed. She handed his ass to him every time they negotiated. She led two historic impeachments against ...

Time for Liberals to Trust Chuck Schumer

Activism

What Conventional Histories of New York’s Struggles in the 1970s Leave Out

Remembering the heroic activism of the Bronx’s Evelina López Antonetty

January 27, 2021 • by Linus Glenhaber

The destructive decisions New York made up to that point had caused the Bronx literally to burn. ...

What Conventional Histories of New York’s Struggles in the 1970s Leave Out

Politics

Is Joe Biden a Socialist?

No, but conservatives forget that some “socialist” programs have worked pretty well

January 27, 2021 • by Colleen Doody

The Chicago Daily Tribune urged Republicans to vote against a Democratic presidential candidate in order to end “costly experiments in state socialism.” Democrats, the writer wailed, sought to “clothe the federal government with paramount power over every kind of enterprise.” A Republican slur against the $1.9 trillion economic rescue package that President-Elect ...

Democracy

Political Meaning and Significance of the Farmer’s Protests in India

January 26, 2021 • by Udeepta Chakravarty

The purpose of the article is to elucidate the political meaning and significance of the Kisan Andolan. It is not to evaluate the contents of the new farm laws nor is it to assess the merits and demerits of the counter claims made by farmer unions and organisations. The article is ...

Political Meaning and Significance of the Farmer’s Protests in India

Uncategorized

Dear Kobe Bryant: a Threnody

Wake up. Grind. Repeat. Become Better.

January 26, 2021 • by Anna Reagan

I. All the instruments we have agree, the day of your death was a foggy grey day. The day before you died, I was rescuing my sister-in-law from her drug dealer’s house. It was very early in the morning because addiction is never convenient. On the 5 Freeway as I drove past ...

Politics

The Fishy Origins of Brexit

From herring and the Hundred Years War to the “cod wars” of the 20th century

January 25, 2021 • by Daniel Davies

After four years of negotiation, it all came down to fish. Britain left the European Union on January 1, 2021–but only after a last-ditch deal secured increased quotas for Britain’s fishing industry. At first glance this minor part of the British economy appears a surprising sticking point. But, as critics have ...

Politics

“A Revolution Against Interracial Democracy”

We are currently witnessing a dramatic replaying of the events that followed the U.S. Civil War, when white supremacists nullified Reconstruction

January 21, 2021 • by Judith Giesberg

Among the early images that emerged from the attack on the capitol on Wednesday was footage of a Black Capitol Hill police officer being chased up the capitol steps as he was pursued by a mob of armed white supremacists. The video shows the police officer, armed only with a ...

Essays

Patriotism’s Dilemma

Lessons from The Godfather

Towards a More Balanced History of the United States

How a page from history exposes the underlying politics of contemporary historical projects

Biden’s Made-for-TV Inauguration

The spectacle of unity required a camera angle that made the razor wire and the thousands of heavily-armed National Guard members invisible

Welcome to the Biden Administration

In a week of hectic activity, the new president re-introduces Americans to the idea of government

Time for Liberals to Trust Chuck Schumer

The doubters are loud, but they may soon be quieted

What Conventional Histories of New York’s Struggles in the 1970s Leave Out

Remembering the heroic activism of the Bronx’s Evelina López Antonetty

Political Meaning and Significance of the Farmer’s Protests in India

Dear Kobe Bryant: a Threnody

Wake up. Grind. Repeat. Become Better.

The Fishy Origins of Brexit

From herring and the Hundred Years War to the “cod wars” of the 20th century

“A Revolution Against Interracial Democracy”

We are currently witnessing a dramatic replaying of the events that followed the U.S. Civil War, when white supremacists nullified Reconstruction

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